Picture!
Piccy of Tia for you at Stafford last weekend. Isn’t she cute? The sheep I mean :-) And what about Tia’s bascule? I am still struggling to find my proper balance both on her and on that saddle. The stirrup bars are set further back than I am used to and I need to ride longer I think. MY bum is way too far out of the saddle and if anything went wrong I’d be off in the blink of an eye.
Tetley was interesting today. He didn’t want to trot on the right rein properly. He would trot very happily and exuberantly, but not rounded. Once I persuaded him to round up he was lame – so he was hiding lameness all along. Not bad, but there. This is the other leg from previously of course, so yet more evidence that his second leg is following the same path as the first. I'm a lot less stressed about it now Tia is a seriously competent little eventer :-))))) What I am so pleased about from yesterday is how she was coming into her fences without slowing down, judging a one-two-three-go! without altering stride or sticking in a short one, and then landing and scanning for the next one to head to. She's going to be as good as Tetley at this rate :-))))))
Caddy did 20 minutes of good work today, but it is very clear how lacking he is in the basic body structures to keep up proper work for very long. I must be careful not to stress him too much too soon, I think. It's a good job that he's number three and not really "needed".
Plans for Tia now, as someone requested, is to do 3ft showjumping (the height she is already at) indoors every two weeks at Riding Club until Christmas, then move to 3ft 3 and on to 3 foot 5 in the early months of next year and bring her out at Pre-novice in the spring for a full season at pre-novice. We'll see how it goes, but I doubt my own ability to get a horse of her size and temperament to jump 3 ft 9 high and over 4 ft wide in a showjumping ring, so Novice is not in our sights right now. Never say never though, it's made enough of a fool of me before :-)
C
posted by cptrayes @ 6:50 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
i am even more impressed you staying on yesterday, looking at that photo!
But tia looks wonderful!
So, looking at the eventing rules, the fence judges need to ESP to read your mind and your horse's mind. Clearly you didn't set Tia at the fence, so how could she have refused? Duh?
Tia looks lovely over that fence. Her knees need to snap more, but why make the fancy move in front when the fence is so easy for her? Lovely bascule. The sheep is adorable and the picture is super!
Longer stirrup might do it if it doesn't compromise your security over the fences. Trying to ride closer to the horse by closing your body angles and pushing your leg forward and down may also help. I used to concentrate on heel down and forward cross country with a darn short stirrup. My body weight tended to stay a bit back and I tried to keep low.
Essentially, you let the fence close your body down to the horse instead of standing up over the fence. Maybe just a bit of an adjustment there will help.
I am watching the WEG highlights now. The horses are not all huge. Tia looks like she'd fit in. But, she'll let you know how much scope she has the first few times you try a bigger fence. She may well have rockets in her legs!
Great picture, funny for me as my mare bascules like that and I always feel I look wrong in some way (usually heels too far back, aka superwoman!!)
Remembering how balanced and fab you looked on Scoobs it is quite different when the front disappears as you go over a fence isn't it? She looks small as a result, so maybe this explains why you like a bigger horse?? What height is the fence? I find over bigger fences the jump shape is more what you expect, also taking them at a faster pace flattens the bascule a little.
Excellent outing though, well done for not losing your rag with the officials completely, I'd have been tempted, their reasoning was mental. They must have had the husbands and grannies on that fence!!
tc Tracey B
By the way, the purple kit looks lucious.
Ann I don't doubt my ability over the bigger fences. They scare me once they get to spreads at 3ft 7 and above. I know it's not logical to jump a huge cross country fence and be afraid of a fence that falls down, but there it is, I am, and I have tried for years to stop it and I can't. Tia is a sensitive mare. She will feel my fear. And she will probably stop. I don't doubt my ability to jump it, I doubt my ability to persuade Tia that I really want to!
Jean I love the purple hat, no silk to blow off in the wind, the whole hat is purple! I love the quarter colours too. Funny about the knees, none of my horses have ever seemed to snap up their knees and I'm beginning to wonder if it's me, but I'm not sure how it can be????
Tracey you have it spot on. With a horse like Tetley or Scooby there is an acre of horse in front of you! On Tia, if she bascules, everything disappears :-0 - it's very unnerving!! I need a technique of sitting back a bit more and looking at the fence with the soles of my boots, but I am struggling with the unaccustomed stirrup positioning on that WOW saddle. We'll get there, hopefully before I break my neck :-)
The fence was 2ft 11 and about 4 ft wide, but to be honest Tia is feeling as though that's just too easy now, and is not really making an effort to clear the smaller and easier shaped ones, as you can see! Doesn't she look HAPPY though?
C
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